Coast Guard responds with a Board of Inquiry and footage of a boat on fire

The government has been claiming that the crew of the boat set it on fire. However, Loshali told an audience of Coast Guard and Larsen & Toubro officials this week that on “31st December night… I was there at Gandhinagar, and I told at night, blow the boat off. We don’t want to serve them biryani”.

There was uproar after The Indian Express reported Loshali’s claims and put out a video of his speech on Wednesday. At a press conference in Bangalore, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the government was standing by its version.

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A Defence Ministry release on Friday said DIG Loshali’s reply to a show-cause notice served on him had been “unsatisfactory”, and the officer would now face a Board of Inquiry.

The Coast Guard also released a video of what it said was the New Year’s morning operation on the high seas. The video, lasting 4 minutes and 37 seconds, showed a burning vessel with smoke billowing from it. The video appeared to have been shot from another vessel at night, and voices of men could be heard in the background.

“It has also been established from the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Ship Rajratan, involved in the operation on the night of 31 December 2014, that he had received no communication from DIG B K Loshali,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

“In response to various news reports emerging in print and electronic media on the issue of interception of suspect boat by Indian Coast Guard ship, it is clarified that the Coast Guard stands by the information released to media vide MoD Press Release dated 02 January 2015,” the statement said.

The January 2 Defence Ministry release, the first official account of the incident, had said that “the (boat’s) crew hid themselves in below deck compartment and set the boat on fire, which resulted in explosion and major fire on the boat”.

Hours after The Indian Express report was published on February 18, the government had served a show-cause notice on Loshali and asked him to reply in 48 hours. At the press conference, Parrikar said that the DIG’s speech could result in a “case of disciplinary proceedings for wrong statement”, and promised to release the video of the operation.

“DIG B K Loshali was served a show cause notice on 18 February 2015. The reply to the notice has been received and is found to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, in accordance with the extant procedures a Board of Inquiry (BOI) has been ordered to investigate the details and establish the facts. Suitable action will be taken on receipt of the proceedings of the BOI,” Friday’s release said.

Coast Guard sources said the three-member BOI headed by a senior Coast Guard official and two officers of DIG rank will submit its report to the Coast Guard headquarters, after which Loshali might face court martial. Coast Guard officials declined to say when the inquiry might be completed.